Moon Headed Side Gill Slug @ Big Sisters 31Dec2008

Moon Headed Side Gilled Slug @ Big Sisters Island from BeachBum on Vimeo.

I had shouted 'Octopus, 2 of them' across the shallow lagoon but R shouted back "oh, forget that, come look at this. Octopus can find all the time. This one cannot."

I ignored R as the two octopus looked as if they were hunting together in tandem. Maybe a mating pair. After spending some time with the octopuses, I headed for the shore where R and the rest of the team had found more Side Gilled slugs.

These are apparently rather rarely seen and are unique amongst slugs. They have gills on the side and can 'swim' by flapping their bodies.

See these links for more info :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/slugs/notaspidae/euselenops.htm
http://www.seaslugforum.net/showall.cfm?base=euseluni
http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=euseluni2

Link summarising R's trip to Big Sister's and a bit more :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2008/12/happy-new-year-from-sisters-island.html

Nemo Dat Duo Habit@ Big Sisters 31Dec2008

Nemo @ Big Sister's Island from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Was suprised to come across a carpet anemone with two very active nemos, one about 5cm and the other about 2.5cm. Almost the entire lagoon at Big Sisters was filled with Sargassum seaweed. The anemone proved impossible to find after I moved away from it and the others in the group gave up looking for it after a good look in the Sargassum fields. The Sargassum cover was so thick that it covered huge portions of the area.

Visit these links for more information on :-
Sargassum : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/seaweed/phaeophyta/sargassum.htm
Anemones : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/gigantea.htm
Nemos : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/pomacentridae/ocellaris.htm

Discovering a new Singapore shore

Went exploring a new shore and was surprised with what I saw in the 90 minutes I was there.
Tide was low at 0.1m.
RT had already gotten to the shore earlier and was busy flashing away at all manner of tiny marine organisms at the far end of the shore.

I decided to head straight onto the shore not at all expecting to sink in knee deep.
Both legs slipped into the soft soft mud so effortlessly and I was suddenly knee deep in mud. Good thing the tide was very low at that point. I looked over to where RT was and she was sooo far away....too far away and out of earshot. The thought of drowning when the tide came back in occurred. Mustering strength from the thought of drowning, I managed to wriggle onto my knees and crawled out on all fours...that was the only way to stop from sinking into the mud.

Happily free I kept to walking on the sandy shore away from the muddy stretches.

Came across a few small carpet anemones.


and other tiny anemones...








Seagrass was present too with Ovalis patches here and there and even Halodule (probably univervis)




There was also a rather rare sand dollar shell. No live dollars seen though.


Snails were plentiful and their shells were all of a wide variety.


thorny pink sea cucumber :-


ball cucumber


snapping shrimp


ghost crabs - these guys can run very fast! but these chose to play hide and seek



can you see the crab?

other crabs were plentiful too


There was also a horseshoe crab shell. Just one.


striped hermit crab



All in all, it was a wonderful new shore!

Read RT's version and sights here :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2008/11/rare-sand-dollars-and-other-surprises.html

Sentosa Blue Spotted Fantail Ray 15Nov2008

Came across this small blue-spotted fantail ray on Sentosa. It was swimming in the shallows probably looking for food like small shrimp or bottom dwelling fish. The disc was slightly bigger than my palm. This seems to be a first record for Sentosa's Tj Rimau reef although it is frequently seen on our other Southern islands.

This is a large video so do wait for it to stream fully before viewing! or join Vimeo to download the file. Click on the Vimeo link for better quality viewing.


Sentosa Blue-Spotted Fantail Ray from BeachBum on Vimeo.

As with most marine ecosystems and organisms in Singapore waters, conservation should be a key concern for all Singaporeans. Amazing Singapore!. In which other capital city can you get to see such wildlife?

Want to know more about the blue spotted fantail ray? Visit wildsingapore.com
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/dasyatidae/lymma.htm

Evolving Tides by Peter Naylor

Came across this HD video on Vimeo.... beautifully done!


Evolving Tides from Peter Naylor on Vimeo.

A short wildlife film showing the wildlife that can be found along the North Norfolk Coast during the winter.
Directed & Produced by Peter Naylor
Written & Narrated by Martin Wase
A Fall Time Productions & Kestrel Films Short

Anemones & Kite Butterfly Fish @ Chek Jawa

Anemones & Kite Butterfly Fish @ Chek Jawa from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This is a large video so do wait for it to stream fully before viewing! or Join Vimeo in order to download the clip. Click on the Vimeo link for better quality viewing.

This seems to be the 'season' for kite butterfly fish (Parachaetodon ocellatus). A good many juveniles were spotted at Chek Jawa by quite a few people (including some over on the Changi side).

The clip shows kite butterfly fish taking shelter in close proximity to two kinds of anemones. The first shows a green carpet anemone whilst the second shows a peacock anemone (see http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/p510.htm for more on anemones.)
"Many sea anemones have tentacles armed with nematocysts, stingers that can inject toxins. They also have stingers that produce only a long adhesive threads (called spirocysts). These make the tentacles sticky and are used to capture hard-bodied prey such as crabs. Tentacles then move the meal to the central mouth, which can expand wide to swallow it whole."

Noting that contact with the anemones could be potentially fatal to the fish, it is a wonder why the fish would want to be so close to the anemones. The carpet anemone stings only at the top and so the area below it could provide refuge for small marine organisms. The only organisms which seem to have immunity are anemone shrimps and clownfish. It is probable that the KBF take refuge knowing that although the anemone could kill them, it would also keep away other predators like larger fish.

The peacock anemone can be seen to attach some of it's tentacles to the KBF. At one point, the fish seems to be struggling and it manages to pull away from the sticky tentacle. Perhaps the KBF do have a limited immunity to the stinging cells of the anemone?